I love designing gardens – and it’s not just about the gardens and plants, it’s the connections that are made with the owners in the process that make it special.
People intrigue me, and to design their garden well we have to know who we are designing for – because essentially it’s not my garden, it’s theirs.
Every garden we design is our response to it’s owners, their family, and the way they dream of living within it.
There’s also the architecture to consider and the garden is also a part of the larger environment and its community – and there are almost always constraints.
There’s nothing cookie cutter about our designs and this is what keeps us engaged.
Every project we work on is unique and has its story.

Emily and David Berlach live at the end of a long tree lined driveway on the edge of a rainforest, together they are the directors of Bohemian Traders – a size inclusive Australian Fashion house. Their home and gardens are symbiotic with their lives and who they are. This is the sort of home you would want to grow old in, it ages like fine wine and their three children have the space to grow and run free.

When we first met, I was drawn to the house and garden – it felt like I knew it. We wandered and talked through their garden which was crammed with plants of all kinds but I felt there was too much going on – an interesting, yet (to me) confusing mix of styles that lacked cohesion which we would have to lift and rephrase to tell the story it deserved.

When new owners ‘inherit’ a previous owner’s garden often there can be trepidation in making changes, but when I walked through their home they were well on the way to making the interior truly theirs and the confidence showed. It appeared effortlessly cool and our aim was to give them a similar assured feel of `belonging’ outside in the garden, using materials with character that mellow and improve with age rather than things shiny, new and bright.

There were functional aspects that had to be addressed too such as parking, access to the guest cottage as it is also used as a backdrop to some of their fashion shoots, some privacy planting to a distant home on the other side of a large pond and what to do with unused land above the house.

They really needed a larger, and really beautiful entertaining space close to their living area and kitchen and I imagined a light framed pergola attached to the building in the way Cathy and I had seen in France that would be vine clad to offer summer shade and I had little idea how to actually do this and Box Building and Landscaping interpreted and implemented our design with finesse and have maintained the garden to this day.

The black steel pergola which attaches to the home is clad in ornamental grape vines which drop their leaves to allow winter sun to enter the living room. Details such as Anduze urns, weathered table and handmade Italian light lend warmth.

An outdoor fireplace becomes a focal point David barbecues in the old fashioned way – over coals and there is nothing that beats the smell of woodsmoke

Japanese box plants are trimmed into mounds of varying sizes and a gravel path path leads to the guest house where rosemary has been planted at the base of a stone wall

An old bougainvillea on the guest house was reduced in size undercut to accentuate its age

Low stone walls add depth in a garden

Gravel has been used for occasional parking beneath a Chinese elm

The upper portion of the land was as a rough grassed paddock, and this was where fallen trees and garden waste was kept out of sight but it was from this high vantage point that the hill on the opposite side of the valley could be seen, and when some of the vegetation was removed we would see down to the home. A level space was created to play pétanque with just enough stone paving for a table and chairs and later an access path was laid above a collection of new and existing citrus trees.

A pétanque pitch in the garden above the house was intended as a destination for family and guests

There are plans for home additions, but all gardens, especially large ones take time, money and commitment, and I know that Emily and David are enjoying their journey.

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We’re very lucky to have the opportunity to work with extraordinary architects, builders, artists and tradesmen in locations  which are sometimes breathtaking whilst others are more homely and we enjoy working on them all. From the country to the coast – local and interstate we get to meet people from all walks of life.  To be able to improve the quality of someone’s day by giving them a beautiful garden is what we love doing the most.

I’m so proud of the work the contractors and their teams produce – without them our work is just ink on paper so I’ve put together a small collection of some of this year’s projects with before and after images. Usually I don’t show the gardens we design before they have had a few years to grow and look at their best, but I thought it may be interesting to watch their journey.

After a well deserved Christmas break we recommence work Tuesday next week on some really exciting projects to kick off the year.

The first set of images are of one part of a project at Curl Curl by Matthew Woodward Architecture which was constructed by JTCD and Verduous Gardens. I’m besotted by the breeze blocks, off-form concrete and second hand bricks used in this project and the way they enhance the cottage. A mature frangipani was transplanted from one part of the site to another transforming the courtyard.

Curl Curl Home – before

Rear courtyard under-construction

Second hand bricks used on steps with breeze-block feature wall

Curl Curl Garden by Night with fire pit in the foreground

This next garden at Wamberal is to be a staged project, and as access will be tricky the owners opted to get the back garden built before they began building. The garden will grow alongside a renovation by White Dickson Architects. The garden was constructed by Box Building and Landscaping, levels were tricky and the stone and rendered walls negotiate it well.

Wamberal Garden before

Wamberal Garden after – planting is very fresh but the walls and steps sensational

On this second Wamberal project we decided that the approach to the front door was all wrong, sometimes we have to look at things with fresh eyes and in new ways, so we demolished part of the existing entry court wall and created a new series of steps and paths to lead visitors to the front door. We saw that the house had a retro vibe and we enhanced this with plants to accentuate the mood. This project was executed by Cornerstone Landscaping – I can’t wait for the plants to grow and either can the owners. I’m loving the off-form steps and stone walls which positively glow at night with the garden lighting by Gardens at Night.

Wamberal 2. before

Wamberal 2 with custom step detail

The third set of images is a unique home by architect Peter Stutchbury – a home in the country at Paynes Crossing for clients I’ve known since they shopped in my nursery in Sydney. The rammed earth courtyard which is central to the home was where the owners elected to begin their garden and Stuart from Eyb Gardens began by constructing the exposed aggregate interconnecting path and then laid a combination of second hand common bricks and recycled clay pavers to our design. A labour of love, this will be a landscape that develops over the years.

The sinuous line the driveway took as it snaked it way to the house site was one of our design leads.

Windows with cinematic qualities…

The courtyard (before) is an integral and central part of the home

Texture and pattern create interest to the eye and bare feet

The fifth project is on an acreage at Duffys Forest, the house was reconfigured by Fineline, then it was gutted and refurbished and we moved fence lines, changed the garden, added a custom swimming pool fence and reconfigured entries and access. As with almost all our work, we like to establish long-term relationships with the garden owners and we will soon be embarking on a new design for an existing dam on this property. Steve from Shakkei Landscaping has done all the work on this one…

The front of the house before work began

Secondhand brick was used extensively for the new driveway

New swimming pool with our custom fencing detail.

The 6th and final `before and after garden’ in this post is at Pittwater and one where we have re-organised existing plants, made roof gardens, created new areas and added lots of new plants. Mature palms have been an important part of this project where an instant effect was what was required. This landscape was constructed – as was the home itself by JGroup Projects. Koichi Takada Architects

Mature Cereus peruvianus was potted near the entry

An old crepe myrtle was carefully lifted into position to provide some privacy to the outside living area                          Image – JGroup Projects website

A sensational view – but we opted for this mature crepe myrtle to give a degree of privacy to the outside living area

Image – JGroup Projects website

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We all want instant results, but it doesn’t matter how much money you have to spend with a garden when it come to plants you have to wait, and he is happy to do this –  he understands that the journey is just as good as the destination. It makes me sound old and philosophical, but when it comes to gardens I have learnt that some things are worth waiting for. This wait breeds patience and you learn to appreciate what you have. Little things make a difference, and you have time to stop and `smell the roses’ – and you learn as you go, as well as listen to the birds and observe the seasons. This garden will grow  at it’s own vegetable speed.

I know what we have done here at this place is making a difference to the lives of the family that live here, and not only that, we are significantly increasing the value of the property as we continue on this `ride’.

Rosa `Green Ice’

As is my usual preference, there is great variety to the plant selection. Clipped evergreens balance the wildness of grasses in this garden and there are even some softer, traditional flowers such as roses and salvia in the mix. Plants such as dragon trees and spineless prickly pear give structure. After our wander we loaded a group of turpentine trees and hoop pine onto the back of my ute and drove over the paddock positioning them where they could offer interest and a little privacy from a neighbouring home. As I return trip I thought to myself how fortunate I am, that I enjoy my profession so much – and so the day began, happy days…

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It’s a big garden so the upkeep was always going to be a consideration – although the owners enjoy gardening when they have the time, they also work long hours.

Surprisingly some of the best elements have worked out to be the simplest, like the low wall constructed by Shakkei Landscaping (the team that have built all the garden). The wall doubles as a seat/retaining wall beneath an old ash tree. Close by flowering may bushes have massed on the sides of the dam to make mowing easier, and many of the garden beds have been shaped in broad arcs – planted with grey-leafed Feijoa sellowiana that will form hedges that will `talk’ to the curving stone wall. Towards the end of my visit their daughter and her family arrived and I watched to see if the kids would walk the wall as I had envisaged – and it wasn’t long before one did just that.

A swing has been hung on the branches making this a perfect place where children can play. A cubbyhouse is nestled under an old plum tree, a flying fox secured to the turpentine trees close by.

Gardens are ongoing, at least the good ones are – never finished they go from strength to strength as they mature. We send short messages to each other via email and last summer they asked if a bed near the dam where I had recommended Miscanthus transmorrisonensis be planted could be planted instead with the herb borage. We compromised. As the space was large enough to share, that’s just what we did and both things were planted. This blue flowering annual is a herb, which has the delicate taste of cucumber, buzzing with bees is a wonderful addition.

Low wall clad in Eco Outdoors `Wamberal

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Just look at the shadow silhouette

 

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We have just completed another Hunter Valley design, which we began directly preceding my holiday in France, located in a valley just before most of the vineyards. The scenery is spectacular.

Mark climbed up one of the hills above the paddock we are working on with the camera, just because he could. It was irresistible.

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I sometimes post the same images on Instagram as I do on the blog, but the blog allows me to expand on my thoughts, so sorry for the duplication if you’re also an Instagram follower.

If you’re yearning for some mature olive trees he has eight left…

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